Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Manuel Lettenbichler has claimed victory at the fourth round of the 2026 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship, dominating the inaugural Forza Orza in Orsa, Sweden. Fresh from his record-equaling seventh Red Bull Romaniacs victory, the German continued his winning momentum aboard his KTM 300 EXC to secure another valuable haul of championship points.
The Forza Orza began with Thursday’s Prologue, where Lettenbichler recorded the fifth-fastest time in the short-format opener. Friday’s one-hour Sprint Race then saw Mani fight his way to second place, setting himself up strongly for Saturday’s two-hour Main Race.
Lettenbichler delivered a dominant performance in Saturday’s Main Race, immediately establishing himself at the front and steadily building his advantage throughout the race. By lap eight, Mani had opened up a commanding six-and-a-half-minute lead, but a crash caused a small technical issue with his KTM 300 EXC.
Refusing to give up the advantage he had built, Lettenbichler rejoined the race. Despite the setback, the German held his nerve to cross the finish line first with a three-and-a-half-minute advantage, securing his third FIM Hard Enduro World Championship victory of the season.
The result sees Lettenbichler extend his lead in the championship standings to 15 points at the halfway stage of the season. With four rounds remaining, the reigning champion is ideally placed to continue his title defense, with the next round taking place at the Abestone Hard Enduro in Italy on September 4-6.
Manuel Lettenbichler: “Yeah, it was a crazy race, honestly. The weather changed the track quite a lot and I didn’t expect it to be so slippery, so we had to push hard to get the win. I’m really happy with the result, especially because it’s good for the championship and we were able to gain some points on Mitch [Brightmore], who is riding really well at the moment. I felt good throughout the race, but then on the second-to-last lap I had a huge crash in the traffic. It was a bit of a mess, and unfortunately the crash caused me some problems. I was pretty nervous that Mitch might catch me, but I kept pushing and we still finished first. I think I did exactly what I had to do, and it’s great to come away with the win. What a race!”
Provisional Results – 2026 Forza Orza
- Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 2:20:41
- Mitch Brightmore (GBR), GASGAS, 2:24:17 +3:36
- Ashton Brightmore (GBR), GASGAS, 2:27:58 +7:16
- Eddie Karlsson (SWE), Stark, 2:24:09 +10:15
- Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 2:25:21 +11:59
Provisional Standings – 2026 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship (after 4 of 8 rounds)
- Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 117 pts
- Mitch Brightmore (GBR), GASGAS, 102 pts
- Teodor Kabakchiev (BUL), Sherco, 74 pts
- Ashton Brightmore (GBR), GASGAS, 73 pts
- Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 65 pts
